


Tied Up In Knots

by alessandralee



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Yoga, F/M, Yoga
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-20 10:28:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2425340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alessandralee/pseuds/alessandralee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye suggests that Jemma takes a yoga class, and the instructor is gorgeous. AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tied Up In Knots

Jemma had never really considered herself the yoga type. Yes, she knew that many of the physical benefits were scientifically proven, but she just wasn’t the granola-eating, meditation loving type.

But as her daily runs got longer and her lab hours got later, the toll on her body got harder. Skye (and the numerous sports medicine articles Jemma had read) insisted that yoga would help her with her aches and pains.

Which is how she ended up at a 6:30AM beginner’s yoga class. She’d invited Skye to join her, but her friend was never much of a morning person. Skye had, however, taken the time to mention that she knew the instructor was great. And gorgeous. She’d mention that multiple times, actually. But Skye’s idea of gorgeous ran the gamut from the petite blonde woman in the apartment below theirs to the foul-mouthed, bearded barista at the coffee shop on campus.

Quietly, Jemma entered the studio and set up the yoga mat she’d borrowed in the back corner of the room. Usually she was a front-and-center kind of girl, but she didn’t want to throw off the rest of the class with all the mistakes she knew she’d be making.

She’d never been much of an athlete. It had taken her a few months (and a few nonsensical injuries) to get into the swing of running. And even now, she stuck to less popular running trails and only competed against herself. And yoga seemed a lot more complicated than running.

Most of the other people in the room were either lying or sitting on their mats, talking amongst themselves. A few were doing some stretches, which Jemma tried her best to emulate.

When the clock in the corner of the room read 6:29 their instructor walked in and quickly rolled out his mat at the front of the room. 

“Alright,” he addressed them with a smile full of brilliant white teeth that contrasted against his dark skin. “For those of you that are new here, I’m Trip and this is beginner’s yoga. Let’s get started.”

Skye was right, he was definitely gorgeous. It took a great deal of effort for Jemma to focus on her sun salutations instead of the tensing and relaxing of his arm muscles as the walked them through. Fortunately, she managed to execute each position satisfactorily, if only from watching Skye do them when she needed a break from a particularly long night at her computer.

“Great job,” he told the class. “Next we’re going to move into tree pose. It might be hard to balance, so make to focus on a fixed point ahead of you. It really helps. Now shift your weight onto your left leg and bring your right foot up as far as you can against your left thigh.”

He demonstrated, and Jemma was pretty sure her own attempt would end poorly.

She tried to copy what he was doing, but couldn’t find her balance. Returning her right foot to the floor, she took a deep breath and tried again.

Meanwhile, Trip moved on with the lesson.

“Now, keeping your feet as they are,” he said as he walked around the room pausing to adjust bodies as needed, “inhale and lift your arms up above your head, palms facing in.”

Jemma had just gotten into position as he walked behind her.

“Stand straighter,” he murmured, lightly pulling back on her shoulders until she was standing completely upright. Her arm felt warm where his hand rested and she didn’t need to look in the mirror at the front of the room to know she was blushing.

She’d blame it on the physical exertion if anyone asked.

“Okay, return to mountain pose and try the same thing on the other leg.”

He waited behind her as she switched legs, which only served to make her more nervous. Awkwardly, she raised her left leg into position, but again failed to find her balance, instead teetering back and forth. Quickly, Trip put a hand on each of her shoulders and held her in place.

“Try finding your nose in the mirror and just focus on it,” he told her. “Spot yourself.”

She could feel his breath on the back of her neck. Did yoga instructors always stand this close to their pupils?

When she finally found her balance, he let go and made his way back to the front of the room.

“Now we’re going to move onto sitting poses,” he announced. “Take a seat on your mat with legs out in front of you.”

Jemma was by no means good at floor poses, but they required significantly less balancing on one foot so she managed to stumble her way through with minimal assistance from Trip. Not that she wasn’t hyper-aware of him every time he walked down her row of mats.

After letting them lie down for a few minutes in corpse pose, Trip bid them all a good day and let them go.

Jemma checked her phone as she packed up her man. She had a text message from Skye.

_he’s single btw ;)_

Good to know. Maybe she’d talk to him. The least she could do was thank him for his help.

“So that wasn’t nearly as embarrassing as I’d imagined,” he said to him after most of the classroom has emptied out.

He met her eyes and smiles. It’s almost unfair how devastatingly handsome his smile is. And the muscles she can see outlined through his tight black tank top certainly did’t make things any easier on her.

“You’ll get the hang of it. The more you practice, the easier it’ll come,” he reassured her.

“That’s what I told my roommate, Skye, when she tried running. She said she never wants to get use to that kind of torture.”

“You’re Skye’s roommate?” he asked, then paused. “Jemma?”

She nodded.

“We took English composition together last year and I convinced her to start taking classes here. She talks about you a lot.”

“Only good things, I hope,” she said, suddenly nervous.

If Skye’s told him about the peanut butter cookie incident with their World History professor, Jemma was going to have to kill her.

“Mostly that you’re a genius scientist who wakes up way too early, and that you refuse to do her chem homework for her.”

Jemma laughed.

“If I did her for her, she’d never learn and she’d fail the final,” she explained.

“I agree completely,” he told her.

There’s an awkward pause in their conversation and Jemma knows it’s her turn to say something, but all she can up with is ‘how did you get those biceps.’

She doesn’t ask.

“Do you want to go get some coffee?” Trip eventually broke the silence.

“Absolutely.”

While he gathered his things, she decided to take the opportunity to text Skye back a winky face of her own. She doesn’t say anything else, but Skye will get the picture.

Once Trip has his stuff, they’re out the door and headed down the block. Jemma doesn’t get to read Skye’s return message until she’s waiting in the lab for her first class of the day.

_I bet he’s really flexible._


End file.
